As the hood is fitted, you need to check frequently to make sure everything is straight. The easiest way is to hold it up to the light.

In any gunsmith fit, the first step is to cut the back and sides of the hood (headspace extension) so it will fit the slot in the slide. The ideal is for the barrel to move freely up and down in the slide but leave no space visible around the hood when you hold it up to the light. Kart's instructions permit a small clearance on the side, but I still prefer no daylight.

Once the sides are cut properly, the end of the hood is filed until the barrel can begin to go up into the slide. At this point, the fitting pads will prevent the barrel from locking up, and they must be evenly cut down until the barrel locks up. Kart also offers a tool kit for the Easy Fit barrels that includes a work bushing, a barrel-locating block (to be sure the lugs are not canted to one side or the other), and a fine file with safe edges that will just fit into the top barrel lugs so you can file down the contact pads.

A variation of this fitting method has been around for awhile either in the form of silver soldering a pressure pad inside the slide or by putting a couple of spots of weld inside the top barrel lugs. Kart estimates that it takes about an hour to do the job, and I'd say that is pretty close. It took me a bit longer because I was being really careful, and since the whole process involves cutting just a little with the file and trying it, patience is the best virtue one can have.

Basically there are three steps: fit the hood, fit the pads, and then fit the bushing. The first two are done with the work bushing in the kit, or you can use a loose GI bushing if you prefer. The final step is the new bushing.

The fit of barrel to bushing is done at the factory, but we have to make it fit the slide. On most guns this will mean that we have to remove some metal from the outside diameter, or skirt, of the bushing, carefully avoiding the locking lug that engages inside the slide.

When I began, it would not even start to go into the Springfield slide. This is one of those places where it is easy to take off too much. The easiest way is to use a belt sander or drill press where you can spin the bushing and take just a little at a time using either a file or Emery cloth. I made a tool for this purpose years ago, but you could easily whittle down a piece of wooden dowel for the job. It can also be done with a hand file. The secret to filing a round surface is to start with the file handle up at a high angle and rock it down as you push forward. That way it is possible to go around the circumference of the bushing in a series of strokes, rotating the bushing each time in the vise.

As I fitted the hood, my calipers showed that the sides were fine as they were, so I slowly began working on the back. It is difficult to cut a straight line with a file because of a tendency to tip it one way or another, so my policy is to make a very gentle cut to see that things are straight and keep doing that until the barrel begins to go up into the slide. I use a rawhide mallet and give the barrel a sharp rap. When you take it out, you can easily see where it is hitting the slide. Remove only that mark and try again. You will need to remove only a little metal, so go slowly. The goal is for the barrel to go into and out of battery with no force. I always stop with the hood just a little tight and touch up as needed after test-firing.